Paul Oakley Stovall and Rebecca Spence Photo by Jenn Udoni

Director Devon de Mayo finds all sorts of ways to allow her cast to take off as we meet them, via Regina Garcia's set, on a Smelta Airlines plane heading to Chicago. The airline's unfortunate name is one of the only errant choices that Bent made here; almost everything else in this script sings with a much less sour tone. Bent gives each of her characters original and sometimes fascinating backgrounds and stories to tell and they do so through short scenes and monologues, as well as singing and even dancing. The play is surreal when it wants to be, suddenly flying off into dreamy reveries, beautifully choreographed full-cast dances, and other interludes, some of which involves the author Mark Twain, who famously did his own share of traveling.

Rebecca Spence is Jan, a more than two-decade veteran flight attendant on her final flight. (The Bonnie of the title is her dog, who has accompanied her on every flight since they've been together, but is now dying of cancer.) Jan has taken early retirement in order to try her hand at her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Twain (LaKecia Harris having an absolute blast) is her imaginary mentor and our guide when we need one. Harris also takes on several small roles throughout the play.

The rest of the talented ensemble is composed of Paul Oakley Stovall as Jan's longtime flight partner and best friend Grieg, Jessica Ervin as nervous neophyte LeeAnne, Eric Slater as a drink-loving pilot, and Glenn Obrero as his copilot, who is in love with LeeAnne. Together, they entertainingly take us through many of the tropes of flying: the pre-flight speech about safety, bad turbulence, the food in first class (knowing the small budgets of Chicago's storefront theatre companies, it's probably not a commentary on the quality of airline food that the "deluxe" brownies served to those in the front row are actually "two-bite" brownies from a grocery store–probably not), unruly passengers, passengers who can't or won't follow directions, peanut allergies, trying to fit a bulky piece of luggage into an overhead bin, leaving valuable things behind, and even a threat to the plane–in other words, the greatest joys of being on an airline. Some of this is even done through tremendously clever dance, including one dance to "Rhapsody in Blue" done with ribbons. (Maybe the airline should have been Smunited?)

Saawan Tiwari's costumes are on point, as are Garrett Bell's lighting and Satya Chavez's sound; in fact, this production is so well organized that even the front of house staff help to enhance the experience, again using tropes of flying like "boarding groups," etc. Rivendell gives us the full Smelta Airlines experience. Each member of the "flight crew" gets their own monologue and/or character development, but it is Spence's Jan on whom the play focuses as she goes through even more emotional turbulence than would ordinarily occur on a final shift. Her performance is sublime, as are those of the rest of the cast, especially Stovall.

Every time I go to a show at Rivendell I come away completely impressed. This small ensemble, whose mission statement is the uplifting of women's voices in theatre, is one of Chicago's tiny gems. Its production of Bonnie's Last Flight is both poignant and hilarious. I'm sure that Bent is proud.

Bonnie's Last Flight runs through October 25, 2026, at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue, Chicago IL. For tickets and information, please visit https://www.rivendelltheatre.org.